Author's note:

If you haven't noticed, I added a cover page! It is my own drawing and I hope you like it.

I do not own the Harry Potter universe or anything that comes along with it. That honor goes to its magnificent creator, J.K. Rowling. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it!

(Edit 12/5/2021: This was first published in late 2020.)

Chapter 5: Christmas Day

In the month before Christmas, everybody in Surrey would have bet their bottom dollar that that year's Christmas would be wet and slushy. As the weeks went by, however, the weather got colder at an abnormal rate, and nobody was so sure anymore. Finally, on the night of Christmas Eve, a snowstorm hit the area where Marlene, Harry and Remus were staying.

The first thing Harry thought to do when he woke up was to roll over and back into dreamland. Then he realized what day it was. Then he promptly rolled over back into dreamland.

This sort of behavior was not too strange from Harry, who had never really experienced a real Christmas, presents and all. He thought Santa only gave presents to those who had been "good". Namely, Dudley. He was not sure what more to expect from his Aunt Marlene.

"It snowed! It snowed!" a man's shout rang out from the sitting room. Now that might be worth getting up for...

He jogged out of his room, which had once been used as the storage room. (Not to worry, though, as the storage room was a great deal larger, and cozier, than the cupboard under the stairs that he was stuffed into by the Dursleys.)

Marlene was in the small corner kitchen making a delicious breakfast of waffles and syrup. It smelled better than Harry could ever dream of, even better than the best food that Dudley ate. Just thinking about how they would taste made Harry's mouth water.

In the sitting room across the hall, he found an all too overjoyed Remus who was, at the moment, jumping around at the prospect of a white Christmas. Outside the window, tiny white snowflakes flitted and fluttered down, covering everything in sight in a blanket of white. On the ground, the snow from the storm piled nearly half a foot high. It was a truly beautiful sight.

In the sitting room, there was also a tree. It was massive, covered in red and gold tinsel, and topped with so many ornaments that it looked on the verge of toppling over. Harry wondered how Marlene and Remus fit it through the door and got it to stand straight, never mind how they found the time to do all that. Oh, right, he deduced, magic.

But the greatest surprise lay under the tree. There, in front of Harry's very own eyes, lay a small pile of presents. While it might not have been much, the surprise that he felt was so overwhelming that he began to tear up.

"Are you alright, dear?" Marlene approached a still Harry and wrapped her arms around him. Remus sat down on a chair in front of him.

"It's just... so much!" he exclaimed, "I've never received presents before."

"Come. Let's eat some breakfast. I'll let you have as many waffles as you want," Remus offered, ignoring the glare that Marlene shot him.

The steaming waffles and syrup indeed helped calm Harry down. In fact, it was so good that Harry came back for seconds, and even thirds.

Then it was declared time to open presents. From Remus, Harry received a book called "Quidditch Through the Ages", and he made a mental note to ask one of them about the game; he was intrigued by it. From Marlene, he received a set of parchment and quills, and Marlene promised to teach him how to use them. He thought they were cool, though ballpoint pens were definitely more convenient.

"Have you opened your stockings yet?" asked Remus. Harry was confused, so he shook his head. Marlene told him to retrieve it from the end of his bedpost.

"Open it," Remus instructed. Inside, Harry found a plushie in the shape of a lily. Remembering the stag soft toy he had bought that same day at the mall, Harry grabbed that from his room too. Marlene and Remus's hearts broke at the sight of Lily and James's son playing with a lily and a stag, not knowing the deeper meaning of them.

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Harry. In the morning, he got to play outside in the snow with Remus, making snow angels and snowmen. After a lunch of rice, beans and brussels sprouts that was delicious (well, less the brussels sprouts than the rice and beans), they all lay down to take a nap.

In the afternoon, they watched a movie over hot chocolate and biscuits. Then the adults became very busy preparing for the Christmas dinner, and Harry was left to his own devices for about an hour. He mostly read the new book he received and practiced his calligraphy with his quills on his new parchment.

The Christmas dinner was splendid, better than anything Harry had ever tasted. Christmas crackers were new to him, but he liked those too.

Once Harry had gone to bed after a very fun-filled day, Marlene and Remus sat down to talk. They didn't get very far before they were interrupted by a bang at the window.

A small brown owl crashed into the window pane, looking like it was about to freeze to death. Remus quickly opened the window and let the bird in before any muggles got suspicious. The owl, in question, was carrying Remus's copy of the Daily Prophet.

Remus allowed the owl to perch near the fireplace with a bowl of water to drink as he skimmed over the day's news. Suddenly, his mouth dropped open.

"Marlene?" he called, "You might want to see this."

The headline read:

The Boy Who Lived Missing! Dumbledore Opens Investigation!

In recent news, 2 months ago, Harry Potter, the only person alive to have survived the killing curse, defeating he-who-must-not-be-named in the process, was found missing from his home in Little Whinging, Surrey.

Albus Dumbledore, Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, said this yesterday: "Finding Harry is crucial to the fate of The Wizarding World, as he is the only person who has the power to defeat [He-who-must-not-be-named] once and for all." This controversial statement, which implies the returned he-who-must-not-be-named, comes amidst claims that he is gone forever. Dumbledore has opened up an investigation to find Harry Potter and arrest his kidnapper.

There was only one thing that they were sure of, and that was that this article spelled one thing, and one thing only. Trouble.

~~~scene break~~~

Word spread fast around Azkaban of the disappearance of Harry Potter. Everybody was talking about it. The Death Eaters, which made up most of the population, argued who it might have been and whether they were on the Dark Side. Most people supposed they were.

Sirius Black was fretting in his cell. His mane of hair, which had not been cut in over 4 years, hung messily over his head, like a mop. There were no barbers in Azkaban.

His godson, who he had an obligation to protect, was likely to be in mortal danger. And here he was, stuck in a prison cell, unable to do anything about it.

Actually there was one thing that he could do, but he didn't know if he had the courage to do it. Did he?

You also have an obligation to Harry to stay alive and as close to the straight and narrow as you can possibly be, a small part of his conscience nagged. But that was all it was. A small part. Anyway, he was in the dunghole for life. He had nothing to lose from breaking out.

So Sirius Black slipped his thin figure through the bars of his cell and melted into Padfoot with the last of his energy and walked off into the pitch black night unnoticed. No one would miss him.

Almost no one. Only a young man, with the same scraggly hair and haunted look in his eyes. He watched Sirius go with a mixture of wistfulness and pride.

"Good luck, brother."

Sneak Peek Into Next Week:

Remus never forgave Sirius for what he had done. Until he realized that there was nothing for him to apologize for.